Radioshack Nissan Trek's Cancellara soars to the Maillot Jaune 30.06.2012: No stranger to yellow jerseys, Fabian Cancellara has scorched the prologue course in Liège

No stranger to yellow jerseys, Fabian Cancellara has scorched the prologue course in Liège to win the opener in the 2012 Tour de France and lay claim to the coveted Maillot Jaune.


RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK is off to a great start in the 99th Tour de France with a dominating win in the opening prologue by Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara. Rolling out of the start house second-to-last, Cancellara posted the best time by one-second at the mid-course check point and continued to ramp up his performance to claim the win by seven-seconds.


With the win comes the first yellow jersey, mirroring his win in 2004, also in Liège, Belgium, when he made his debut in the Tour de France with a prologue win and yellow jersey as a 23-year old.


Cancellara:  “I have memories today of winning 8 years ago and that was very special.  When you are 23 and win, then 8 years later do it again, it’s a very special thing for me, my family and especially for the team.  This is a great opening for our Tour.  A lot of pressure went away with this win. But we all want success and success is never easy. The whole team did a big effort.”


Second place went to Britain’s Bradley Wiggins of Sky with third to went to Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-QuickStep. At 6.4 km/4mi the course was located in the heart of Liège.  With long straight-aways giving way to serpentine turns in the last kilometer, Cancellara displayed focus and determination on the bike, winning a stage he had targeted for many months.


It was Cancellara’s fifth Tour prologue victory and his 22nd yellow jersey on Saturday, and with the Tour jersey comes the trophy of a stuffed lion:  “I was thinking of my family today, of my daughter and my wife Stefanie who is expecting our second child later this summer. I’m happy to have a lion to take home for the next baby.  Home is the basis for everything, more than my training or the team. My family is most important and I’m proud.”


The four-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion looks to the stage ahead, designed for the sprinters.  Cancellara: “Now the Tour can start for us and you will see RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK at the front. This win gives me confidence for what is coming in the days ahead, especially after my crash earlier this year.  It’s just great. I’m proud to be in yellow now. I won’t say yellow gives you wings, but I will do my best to defend the jersey.”


At 198km/123mi, Stage 1 on Sunday begins in Liège and ends in Seraing.


LEOPARD - also photo